There are many reasons for a craft beverage producer to invest in quality – catering to a more demanding consumer base, staking out a competitive edge, preparing for more distant distribution – but determining how to implement QA/QC can be difficult.  In this webinar, Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance Manager Chris Van Orden will speak with Audrey Skinner, Gastronomical Chemist and Founder of Imbibe Solutions, about the steps that planned, new, and growing beverage producers can take to safeguard quality, improve product stability, and lengthen shelf-life.  

Webinar presented by The Virginia SBDC Craft Beverage Assistance (CBA) program. Visit the CBA program page for more information.

Audrey Skinner is a Gastronomical Chemist and Founder of Imbibe Solutions, an independent laboratory that works with craft alcohol businesses to supplement and enrich their quality control programs. She has helped many brewers, winemakers, and other craft-fermenters improve processes, ensure product stability and cleanliness, expand shelf-life, and enhance overall product quality. Her goal is to provide small-scale craftsmen with beneficial, quantifiable data so they can be competitive in the growing marketplace.

Marketing – Putting your best face forward and bringing parents to your door

In today’s environment, every enrollment counts. The ability to fill those slots is largely dependent on how well you can market your child care center. In this webinar we will provide practical and cost-effective strategies you can use to meet your enrollment goals.

You’ll learn:

• Ways you can leverage social media and search engine optimization to drive interest
• How to create a digital storefront that attracts even the most discerning parents
• Tips on using data to make more informed decisions about your marketing and promotional tactics

Presented by: Lauren Small, business consultant and the owner of Early Education Business Consultants, LLC

Financial Management – Navigating the challenging ECE business model and increasing your center’s profits

Get more confident with numbers as you find out how to:

• Deal with the minimum wage increase
• Manage our challenged business model to keep up with rising costs, especially labor costs
• Sharpen your financial know-how
• Become adept at financial forecasting
• Strengthen your money management systems
• Make data-driven decisions

Presented by: Lauren Small, business consultant and the owner of Early Education Business Consultants, LLC

Join the Virginia SBDC International Business Development team and Customs Attorney, Ms. Evelyn Suarez, for an interactive conversation about the strained global supply chain environment and possible solutions you can enact. The conversation will touch on:

• How supply chains worked pre-covid, and the impact of covid, labor shortages, and increased demand that have gummed up the global trading system.
• Strategies that small businesses can employ to mitigate the adverse impacts of supply chain disruptions.
• How to communicate new realities to partners and customers.